you read, try to understand what the poem is saying about love.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
William Shakespeare
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments, love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come,
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ nor no man ever loved.
bark – boat or ship
bears it out – remains true
compass – range – rosy lips and cheeks are affected by time
edge of doom – up to the end of the world
height be taken – the position of the star in the sky is measured using instruments
impediments – things that stand in the way
star – even today, sailors sometimes use the position of particular stars to guide them
worth’s unknown – love’s value cannot be measured
writ – wrote
| Post-reading | |
| 3. | The title of the poem, the first line and a half, says ‘true minds’, faithful hearts or real love, do not allow anything to stand in their way. The poet seems to be arguing something. What is the statement made in the first verse that forms the basis of the argument? |
| 4. | In verse two, what is the ‘it’ referred to? |
| 5. | In verse two, what is the ‘it’ being compared to in the metaphor used that says ‘it’ is something else? Focus on the words that describe something else, the ‘tempests’, ‘star’ and ‘bark’ to understand. |
| 6. | What is the poet saying by this comparison? |
| 7. | What are the ‘alterations’ that love finds and what causes these? (See verse 3.) |
| 8. | How is time personified (made to seem human) in the third verse? |
| 9. | Look at the last two lines, the couplet. How does the poet sum up his argument and prove himself right? |
| 10. | Think of older couples you know, your grandparents, for example. Have you seen photos of them when they were young? How have they changed? Do they still love each despite these changes? Can you apply what Shakespeare says in the poem to them? Talk about this with a friend. |
Important elements of a short story
A short story is a short work of fiction. Fiction is prose writing about imagined events and characters. Some short stories can be quite long. If a short story is a long one, say fifty to one hundred pages, we call it a novella.
When readers read a short story, they must be able to
identify the characters in the story;
determine the place where the story takes/took place;
relate the events or plot of the story;
determine the time when the events take/took place.
What makes a good short story? Combining the five key elements that go into every great short story: character, setting, conflict, plot and theme.
A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story or other literary work. A short story usually has only one main character. Because of it being so short, there is not much room for character development. At a critical moment, a character revelation or development can take place, thereby revealing the inner life of the character.
Characters can be introduced to the reader in more than one way, namely
| a) | by describing the characters directly; |
| b) | through the characters’ behaviour, in other words their actions; |
| c) | through what the characters say and think, in other words their dialogue and line of thought; |
| d) | through name-giving: the character’s name can also describe the character; |
| e) | through what other say about them. |
The setting of a short story is the time and place in which it happens. Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting.
A plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.
The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story. The main character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the other side, the main character may struggle against another important character, against the forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).
The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story. The short story usually has only one motive or main idea. Ask yourself: What is this story really about?
In present-day short stories, the main character often also narrates the story in the first person.
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | What is your view of a woman’s role? Do you think a new wife should be happy to cook and clean well and please her in-laws? What is the reason for your view? |
| During reading | |
| 2. | What does the narrator’s use of an indigenous language add to the atmosphere in the story? How do we know that what they are saying is urgent and probably being shouted? |
| 3. | Why are there no young men in the village? |
Flight
Sindiwe Magona
Cries of ‘Khawulele! ‘Wenk’umntu!’ shattered the stillness of the saucer-like village nestling in the valley, surrounded by green hills and scrub-dotted mountains.
Echoes bounced from hilltops, clashed mid-air, ricocheted and fell in jumbled noises that boomed, invading our ears and jamming out all other sounds.
weh weh weh khauu khauu khauu
